Pages

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Adulting 101 : 10 more ways to fake it 'til you make it

What does it mean to be an adult? If it means going grocery shopping on a Friday night, or falling asleep early on a weekend, then I'm nailing it. If it means scheduling routine maintenance for my car, or doing the dishes before they take up the entire sink, then I've got a ways to go.

Adulting looks like different things to different people, but there are some things that are just adult, no matter how you slice it. Kids will never pay bills or willingly clean the bathroom.

But, what I think it all comes down to is there's no way to teach this shit. There is no Adulting for Dummies book - I looked. Try as your parents might, they were probably just faking it too. Which, you hit 22 & you think, "Shit, I've got to start figuring this stuff out" & then all of a sudden you're 25 26 (It would be really great if I could remember how old I was) & you talk to a few friends & you realize absolutely no one has got it all together. This whole country, this whole world is being held together by a bunch of people who are 100% faking it.

Sometimes, when I'm riding a post-grocery shop high, my fridge is stocked with fresh produce and I feel like I'm ready to take on the world.

And other days, I hit snooze one too many times, show up to work with greasy hair and forget my lunch on the counter. Those are the days I start to question myself. Gone is the produce warrior of days past and I question my ability to do anything adulty.

Those greasy hair, forgot my lunch days are the ones where I need a quick confidence boost, a pep talk if you will, a few quick hits that remind me I'm a lean, mean, adulting machine a real grown-up.

So, for those days when you need a pep talk, here are 10 more ways to fake it 'til you make it :

1. Write a handwritten note - & even MAIL it
Mailing a handwritten note is way more complicated than it sounds. It involves not only writing down words, but having an envelope & then a stamp & the address of the person you want to mail it to. And then waltzing your ass on down to a mailbox. This shit is not for the faint of heart.

2. Schedule a doctor appointment & show up for it
Pretty sure the worst part of being an adult is scheduling DR appts, especially if it involves a phone call, and then showing up to an office where you'll wait for 45 minutes before someone will poke you, engage in weird small talk & then make you pay for it.

3. Pack your own lunch
Bonus points if you eat a salad - or more than one vegetable.
Go ahead. Shoot for the moon. Save $ - which you can use for your 401K or more margaritas, your choice. Save calories.

4. Set an alarm for a weekend morning
It doesn't have to be at 7AM. But be intentional. Don't waste the day away in bed until noon. It screws your sleep up, and it's why you're always tired come Monday. Wake up. Go buy yourself a fancy coffee. Better yet, walk to the coffee shop.5. Make a budget & stick to it (mostly)!
I've been rolling the idea of a budget post around (maybe even with real #'s, but that's a scary thought to share) - would you guys like that?

6. Update your resume
Even if you're not applying for anything. Take 10 minute and add in all the things you've accomplished over the past year. Better to have something updated and accurate when someone asks, or if you find the perfect job than to be left scrambling.7. Clean the microwave
Go ahead, tell me there's not weird exploded food on the top of that sucker. Something has popped, bubbled or just straight up exploded in there, and I guarantee you didn't bother to clean it all the way.8. Do the dishes
Like before the sink is so full you can't wash your hands in it.

9. Eavesdrop on teenagers
Want to feel like you seriously have your shit together? Go listen to a gaggle of teenage girls having a conversation. You'll instantly feel like you know what you're doing. And you'll also probably need to hop on Urban Dictionary - 'cause you'll have no idea what half their words mean.

10. Make a fancy cheese plate
Go to Aldi (my budget friendly favorite) or TJ's or the Farmer's Market. Buy a few fancy cheeses, the weirder the name, the fancier, obviously. Pair with some grapes, and some crackers & arrange artfully with the grapes in the middle. Eat it alone, or take to your next friend gathering & spread the fancy.

How have you "faked it" recently?What lame adult thing do you find exciting? - I love freshly changed sheets!What junk food would you eat en masse if you knew it wouldn't make you feel bad? - I think I would pick queso.

27 comments:

I'm 44 & still feel like I fake it half the time - especially making big decisions like appliances or cars :) When I go to the doctor by myself, I still want my mom with me ;) hahaI totally get excited about a new kitchen sink sponge.

Going to the doctor alone is the worst. As is calling for appointments. Not sure why, and it just seems like one of those things that probably won't ever be okay. I'll probably always wish my Momma was with me. Glad I'm not the only one.

Oh boy, I'm 23, and I still wonder if I will ever not be afraid of doing things that are 'adulting' such as changing a tire, interacting with people to get a 'car' thing done, or changing the oil. O_O I've watched my dad change the oil, but I've never changed it myself. My sister has though.

Definitely, I feel more accomplished, by God's grace, when I do the dishes and am able to plan dinner before noon. :D

Junk Food = I would eat ... ICECREAM! Although, I don't even want to call it junk food. :D

Oh yes, and cleaning out the microwave is a HUGE task. I always kind of shy away from it lazily. You just reminded me.

Not junk food, let me rephrase, food you would eat a ton of if you knew it wouldn't make your stomach hurt. I love queso, but, I pretty much always feel sluggish & have a stomach ache if I eat a whole bowl of it, which, if I see it, I eat it! Haha

One of the biggest realizations in my life that made me feel so much better is when I realized that everyone is just faking it. That made me feel so much better and was oddly helpful. And yeah, nothing makes me feel more like an adult than talking to my teenage nephew :)

This had me laughing at work! I love this Adulting series! I'm 33, and faking half of it. It makes me feel very adult when I schedule a car appointment and show up for it! I feel like "Yeah, I'm slaying this adult thing".

Junk food? Burgers, and fries... all the time!

Recent adult thing I'm enjoying, paying my bills BEFORE they are due... instead of trying to pay them online as fast as I can because they were due Yesterday!

Literally the only reason any of my bills get paid on time is because everything I have is on automatic bill pay. But I am so bad about opening up mail unless I know it's something fun that my bills would be SO overdue!

Thank you for this! I love it, Thanks for sharing! I definitely struggle between being a real adult and justifying the "not so adult" traits. The sink full of dishes, making the bed and bringing a lunch to work are my big struggles. My food of over-indulgent is definitely Chicago popcorn.. It is my weakness.

Hahaha I love these. Completely true. Okay one thing I've been loving lately is having clean/freshly wiped countertops. Like it's the simplest thing in the world but it makes me feel like, so put together haha. And when my apartment smells good. Shout out to Scentsys and candles. And yes, do a budget post! I love reading them and always feel super inspired by them haha.

I always feel like an awesome cheese plate makes me feel very adulty too. I even went one step up the other weekend and had a cheeseplate with homemade crackers. Back the heck up, Martha Stewart... there's a new queen in town!

I absolutely adore how number 10 is to make a fancy cheese plate :P I do get my car in for routine maintenance--but, sadly, getting myself in to get my wisdom teeth taken out has...yet to be accomplished. :S

This sounds silly, but when I was younger my Mom used to give me a sponge & I would clean the shower while I was in it. It actually worked pretty well & the steam loosened up a bunch of junk. Maybe I should try that again!

Hahahaha! Loved this! I actually love budgeting and plan out our spending for two weeks at a time.....months in advance.... so I know where the extra money is for saving or splurging. Also, I like meal planning on the calendar. My mom used to do it and now that we're the typical family of four, it helps a lot.

I LOVE meal planning and am so impressed by your budgeting! It must be so relieving to know where your $$$ is going in advance, plus, I'm sure if an emergency came up you know exactly what money you could move to cover it!